SINGAPORE - Flash memory storage maker SanDisk is entering the portable solid-state drive (SSD) market with its new Extreme 500 and Extreme 900 Portable SSD series of devices.

Compared with conventional hard drives, solid-state drives provide faster transfer speeds and are less susceptible to damage, because they are made with non-moving parts.

The SanDisk Extreme 500 Portable SSD is less than half the size of a smartphone, but is capable of delivering four times the transfer speed of a conventional portable hard drive.

The square-shaped Extreme 500 has a black finish with rubber bumpers, and comes with a metal ring that clips on to your bag or belt. The Extreme 500 is available in either 120GB ($188) or 240GB ($288) capacities, and a 480GB ($499) version will be available by the end of the year.

For those who value storage capacity over a small form factor, the larger SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD units offers storage capacities of up to 1.92TB, and transfer speeds of up to 850MB per second.

Clad in a sleek durable aluminium case, the Extreme 900 comes with both USB Type-C and traditional Type-A cables, for use with USB Type-C compatible machines such as the new MacBook. The Extreme 900 will available by the end of the year in capacities of 480GB ($769), 960GB ($1,149) and 1.92TB ($1,899).

SanDisk has also launched the Connect Wireless Stick, a new wireless mobile flash drive that can be linked to three devices at the same time via Wi-Fi.

With a range of 50m, users can transfer files or stream movies from the flash drive wirelessly via an app (Android and iOS), on to mobile devices.

The Connect Wireless Stick has a battery capacity of about four and a half hours and is available in 16GB ($49), 32GB ($69), 64GB ($99) and 128GB ($169).